Books by Paul Ryscavage

Reformers, almost by definition, claim the moral high ground because they see abuse and malpractice and want to abolish it. But when their perceptions become clouded, the high ground can quickly turn into quicksand. This work examines the Riggs war, a case of acute "government overreach," and the perpetrators involved.

Norman Bruce Ream was born in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1844, the son of a farmer. He exhibited a commercial sense, but the Civil War interrupted his ambitions. Wounded twice, he returned home a hero.After some unsuccessful business ventures out west, he went to Chicago in 1871 and became a commission merchant in the Union Stockyards. A few years later, he moved uptown and traded grains and provisions in the pits of the Board of Trade. Money poured in. Indeed, by 1886 he was a millionaire (also married and the father of several children). He started investing in real estate, urban transit companies, railroad stockand began consolidating and financing enterprises.At century's end, he was traveling to New York City, impressing financiers like J. Pierpont Morgan. Indeed, he helped Morgan put together the U.S. Steel Corporation and the International Harvester Company, served on many boards, and even advised Morgan during the panic of 1907. But life grew turbulent. Public sentiment soured towards Wall Street and the wealthy. This, along with the presumed indiscretions of some of his children, kept his name in the press. He died in 1915, and gradually, his life was forgotten.

The ethical question implied by discreparcies between the distribution of income and the economic foundations of our country is at the heart of much of political debate. This title asserts that the media has misused various facts surrounding the increase in income inequality.

In this volume, the author seeks to analyze various aspects of growing inequality of income in society. What is income inequality? How is it measured? How does it relate to poverty? The author addresses these and other conceptual issues in the book.